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TSA's gun policy: Confiscate it, Instagram it
41–50 of 66 posts
Re: TSA's gun policy: Confiscate it, Instagram it
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
> (only 10% of the people we stopped were even licensed to carry a handgun!) That would only be a meaningful statement in some states.
If by "some", you mean "most", and if by "most", you mean "all but one." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concealed_carry_in_the_United_...
Several states have permissive open carry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:OpenCarryUnited_States.png
Even if they were concealed carrying it without a license, the statistic would be "10% of those caught not in Vermont did not have a license to carry the gun in the manner that they were carrying it".
Re: TSA's gun policy: Confiscate it, Instagram it
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Some people have said (on HN as well as other places) that the TSA have never stopped weapons getting on board a plane and if they had they would have heavily publicised it I believe the standard claim is that they have never discovered and apprehended a terrorist, preventing an attack. Everybody knows they steal shit from people who, although perhaps stupid, are not terrorists.
( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3810785 )
Yes and?
Google search for "tsa never caught a terrorist":
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/20... (Slate pointing out that the TSA doesn't catch terrorists, making special note of the fact that they have not bragged about doing so.)
http://disinfo.com/2012/03/has-the-tsa-ever-foiled-a-terrori... (blogspam about an economist article written by Bruce Schneier about the TSA never catching terrorists. Bruce Schneier is likely the most prominent person that points out that the TSA never brags about bagging one. I would wager that he popularized the point.)
http://tsanewsblog.com/3160/news/tsa-executive-admits-not-a-... (TSA official asked directly if they have ever caught a terrorist.)
Google search for "tsa never found a gun":
(Fuck all.)
The popular question is "if the TSA has caught a terrorist, why haven't we heard".
"If the TSA has never found a gun, why haven't we heard?" is foolish and as far as I can tell almost never asked.
Re: TSA's gun policy: Confiscate it, Instagram it
#44The headline is a bit odd. The TSA blog gives clear and simple instructions on how to take your weapons onto a plane. (Not loaded, not in your hand luggage.) Some people have said (on HN as well as other places) that the TSA have never stopped weapons getting on board a plane and if they had they would have heavily publicised it. In fact, they stop about 20 to 30 guns each week from getting on board a plane. Those gu…
So are they inadvertently showing that they only need x-ray machines and metal detectors and don't have to feel us up anymore?
Re: TSA's gun policy: Confiscate it, Instagram it
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
If by "some", you mean "most", and if by "most", you mean "all but one." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concealed_carry_in_the_United_...
From your link: Among U.S. states, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Vermont and Wyoming allow residents to carry a concealed firearm without a permit. These states also allow the open carry of a handgun without a permit. I count five.
Ah—my misunderstanding/miscommunication. In Alaska, for example, it wouldn't be against the law to normally carry a firearm, and thus it would be entirely believable that someone left a firearm in their backpack. In California, it wouldn't be: if the guy doesn't have a concealed handgun license, he wasn't able to legally carry the gun outside of his house, much less into the airport. The "I got careless" argument makes way less sense.
Re: TSA's gun policy: Confiscate it, Instagram it
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Some people have said (on HN as well as other places) that the TSA have never stopped weapons getting on board a plane and if they had they would have heavily publicised it I believe the standard claim is that they have never discovered and apprehended a terrorist, preventing an attack. Everybody knows they steal shit from people who, although perhaps stupid, are not terrorists.
( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3810785 )
Some people do, of course, believe that the TSA has literally never caught a weapon. Some people also believe that the TSA is secretly protecting us from the lizard-men from Mars. It is fairly easy (even here) to find someone on most any side of a debate who's arguing from deranged criteria.
We can argue about what qualifies as 'standard' - although I don't think any of us have access to much in the way of quantification regarding arguments for and against the TSA. Proof to the contrary would be a pleasant surprise.
I hope it suffices to say that most people who are concerned about the TSA are concerned about rates of detection and perceived effectiveness of techniques versus cost. Even if not everyone would be so wordy.
Re: TSA's gun policy: Confiscate it, Instagram it
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
> to help remind people to put guns into checked baggage instead I have to wonder how many of the firearms they stop are just regular law-abiding concealed handgun license bearers who, in their rush to get to the airport, forgot that they keep a loaded firearm in their purse, briefcase, or backpack. Since the penalty is a $7,500 fine and not 20 years in jail, I have to presume this scenario is far more common "malici…
If you forget you're carrying a loaded firearm you shouldn't be carrying one in the first place. Such responsibility should not be dealt with lightly, if you're not aware that you have it you are also not aware when you lose it.
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Re: TSA's gun policy: Confiscate it, Instagram it
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
I feel like I am the only person on this thread that thinks the scenario that someone just happened to "damn, went to the airport and forgot that I had a gun in my bag while going through airport security " is pretty far-fetched. A pocketknife from a fishing trip? Understandable. Being forgetful about having a gun in your bag? While going through airport security to get on an airplane? Not so much.
Is your opinion then that 20-30 people a week intend on using a weapon on board a plane?
I don't know what their point was, but mine would be this: those 20-30 people a week shouldn't be allowed to keep their guns. I support their right to ownership and carry, but they really should lose that right (or at least that firearm and a substantial sum of money) if they're so careless as to forget that they have a lethal device stuffed in a bag that they've just packed for a flight. That kind of stupidity and negligence gives careful gun owners a bad name.
Ownership of a firearm requires a certain level of responsibility. A concealed carry permit increases that quotient of responsibility substantially. In my mind, forgetting where you put your gun is basically inexcusable. There may well be the odd, vanishingly unlikely circumstance where one could plausibly excuse unintentionally carrying a firearm through airport security, but I can't think of it.
My bet is that most of these idiots knew they had their guns with them but thought they'd try it on anyway, reasoning that if they went home to drop it off, they'd miss their flight.
Re: TSA's gun policy: Confiscate it, Instagram it
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
I feel like I am the only person on this thread that thinks the scenario that someone just happened to "damn, went to the airport and forgot that I had a gun in my bag while going through airport security " is pretty far-fetched. A pocketknife from a fishing trip? Understandable. Being forgetful about having a gun in your bag? While going through airport security to get on an airplane? Not so much.
Is your opinion then that 20-30 people a week intend on using a weapon on board a plane?
I suppose that "far-fetched" isn't the right word to use, rather that it's absurd that that many people per week forget that they have a potentially loaded gun in their bag and are carrying it into a high-security area where they know they should specifically not have guns.
If we assume that those people don't have any malintent, then they're just careless. And if they are that careless, they should get their firearms confiscated from them and they should be fined.
Re: TSA's gun policy: Confiscate it, Instagram it
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
> to help remind people to put guns into checked baggage instead I have to wonder how many of the firearms they stop are just regular law-abiding concealed handgun license bearers who, in their rush to get to the airport, forgot that they keep a loaded firearm in their purse, briefcase, or backpack. Since the penalty is a $7,500 fine and not 20 years in jail, I have to presume this scenario is far more common "malici…
If you forget you're carrying a loaded firearm you shouldn't be carrying one in the first place. Such responsibility should not be dealt with lightly, if you're not aware that you have it you are also not aware when you lose it.
Is that a special case for firearms, or do you think the same of pocket knives?